A Classical Guitar Dream

The Demons Can't Hurt Us Anymore

>>>>>>>>>>>>> Part 9 - The Demons Can't Hurt Us Anymore <<<<<<<<<<<<<

The silence was slightly awkward, and to break the tension, Sophie cleared her throat and asked a question.

"Ah, Halley? How long have you been Carlotta's friend?"

"Oh, maybe five months, that's how long she's lived here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sophie said, shifting around. "I don't mean to be rude, but are you dating her? It's just you're really affectionate towards each other, and she talks a lot about you."

Halley turned around and smiled. "No, we're not dating. I suppose I'm an affectionate person, and she's a touchy-feely person, too. We've been like that, I suppose because of what happened for both of us."

"What happened? And when?"

"Oh," Halley sighed, her eyes full of memories. "It was five months ago. She had just moved here from Madrid, cross and angry, and homesick because she had to move away from all she ever knew. Carlotta was in a really bad state, so homesick. I was not in a good state, either, for that matter."

"What happened?" Sophie whispered.

"Huh, my Grandfather, at the time, the only one who knew I was genderfluid, and the struggle I was going through. I was a delicate, passive person then, hardly had any friends at school. He was the only one who kept me going, who I could confide in. Then, something happened, and everything just came crashing down."

"Why? Did something happen to him?" Sophie asked, fearing the worst.

"He died of a heart attack. He was in the prime of his life, and it affected me badly." Halley said, her head hung low. "I fell into a state of almost depression."

"Seriously?" Sophie said, her hand drew to her mouth. "Ack, sorry, shouldn'ta asked.."

"No, don't be. These things happen." Halley said, her eyes glistening with tears. "It got so bad; I had to take counselling. But, that was where salvation came."

"In what form?"

Halley looked away, to hide her tears. "Carlotta. At the time, she was having therapy for her homesickness. We met in the reception room. The rest, they say, is history."

There was silence in the room, and Halley wiped her tears away. Sophie looked at Halley in a new light, and suddenly, felt closer to her. She cleared her throat, and Halley looked up, the area around her eyes was still damp-looking.

"You know, I've lost someone close to me, too." Sophie began, in a quiet tone, not entirely sure where this was going.

Halley just looked at her silently, waiting for her to continue in her own time.

"My mother, she died a few years ago, two in fact. She died of lung cancer. My dad was left stricken with grief, and a family of eight to look after."

Sophie gave Halley a sideways smile. "Eh, you're probably thinking, wow, that's a lot of siblings. Well, it's not exactly the case. You see, in my mob, we're all one big family, we call all of our elders "Auntie" or "Uncle", regardless if you're related by blood or not."

"So, the eight that lived with my Dad and Mum, when she was alive, was my brother, my sister, my half-sister and half-brother, they're twins, my older cousin, his sister, and my Granny."

She paused, smiling. "We're an odd bunch, but Dad took in any kids that needed a home. My cousins live with us because they needed to get away from an alcohol-abusive mother."

"He realised he couldn't look after us all by himself, and we were heavy on debts. So we sold the farm, the house, almost everything we owned to pay for it."

"Why did you move here?" Halley asked.

"Well, there were plenty of jobs here, and my Dad's kid sister lives here, and she offered to help look after our family. So, we packed up everything, chucked the larger stuff on the ship to be shipped over, and took the first flight to London.

"It must have looked a bit odd, seven kids and teens, with tanned or dark skin, an Olive-skinned older woman, and a pale as anything tall man, all travelling together."

"That must have been hard for you to move," Halley said, wide-eyed at this extraordinary tale she was listening to.

"It was, but you get used to change, don't you. Besides, you can't stop change, any more than you can the suns from setting."

"Yes," Halley said, and they lapsed into companionable silence, feeling a bit more connected to each other.